Mayor and Members of the City Council: This is the report for the two weeks ending June 8th, 2018. 1. Meeting Notes The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19th. Enjoy the next week off! 2. Point Richmond Music 2018 Boasts Tuneful Line-Up – OPENING NIGHT! Point Richmond Music's 2018 free concert line-up is anticipated to be one of the best yet! Point Richmond Music (PRM), an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, produces this annual music series in support of its mission to build community through the unifying language of music. This year, the sponsors had the difficult task of choosing from among more than 100 bands that submitted applications to perform, and the result will be a great summer of music. The summer-long street series runs on the second Friday of each month, June through September, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM in historic downtown Point Richmond (Park Place between West Richmond and Washington Avenues). In addition to free music, every concert features an opportunity drawing, arts and education booths, face-painting for children and dancing in the streets. Local restaurants offer a wide array of cuisines, and a rotating selection of food trucks pull up to each concert. Concert-goers can pair fine food with beverages served in biodegradable cups from PRM’s no-host bar, with proceeds directly supporting the music series. Festival-style seating is available with a limited number of chairs provided, and concert-goers are encouraged to bring their own festival/lawn chairs. Maria Muldaur & Her Red Hot Bluesiana Band will kick off the season TONIGHT, Friday, June 8th, with an evening of high-energy New Orleans blues, rhythm & blues 1 and swamp funk. Be there! Please visit www.pointrichmondmusic.org for more information, and to see details of the entire summer line-up. 3. Rent Program Community Workshop –Tenant 101 in Richmond – (TOMORROW) The City of Richmond Rent Program is continuing its series of workshops to inform the community about the program’s operation. The next workshop (TOMORROW) is designed for tenants who would like to learn more about Rent Program rules and regulations. 2 Topics for discussion include: “Just Cause” requirements for evictions Relocation payments Allowable rent increases Timeline for rent increases Community Workshop - Tenant 101 in Richmond Saturday, June 9th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM City Council Chambers 440 Civic Center Plaza Richmond, CA 94804 4. GRID Alternatives’ Solarthon Comes to Richmond! 3 The City of Richmond Community Development Environmental and Health Initiatives, and local residents of Atchison Village are partnering with the non-profit GRID Alternatives to expand Richmond’s growing solar-powered energy production. On Saturday, June 9th, volunteers – individual sponsors, corporate teams, job trainees and the homeowners themselves – will come out to install solar electric systems for 17 low-income families as part of the GRID Alternatives Solarthon, the organization’s annual solar block party and fundraiser. Residents are encouraged to come between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM at the corner of West Bissell Avenue and Collins Street in Atchison Village to view the solar installations, visit tables hosted by partnering organizations (12:00 PM- 4:00 PM), and learn more about GRID Alternatives. Saturday, June 9th, 2018 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Corner of West Bissell Avenue and Collins Street Atchison Village, Richmond, CA More information about the Solarthon event can be found at, https://gridalternatives.org/regions/bayarea/partner/solarthon For more information about GRID Alternatives and the no-cost solar program, please visit, www.richmondenvironment.org 5. North Richmond Annexation Should unincorporated North Richmond become part of the City of Richmond? Join the City of Richmond for a community conversation on Thursday, June 21st at the Shields Reid Community Center at 6:00 PM to: Learn more about the proposed annexation project; Discuss what annexation means to the North Richmond community; Find out how to get involved with the process. 4 If annexed, unincorporated North Richmond would officially become part of the City of Richmond, would be governed by the Richmond City Council, and all municipal services would be provided by the City of Richmond. We hope you join us for this important conversation. Food, childcare, and translation will be provided. Please RSVP to (510) 620-6828. For more information visit www.nrannexation.org or contact LaShonda White at [email protected] or at (510) 620-6828. 6. City Manager Chronicles I have listed below some of the topics for meetings that I attended during the past week in the hope that it provides an idea of the varied issues with which our organization deals routinely. Meetings and events of note during the past week included: Met with staff from the Planning and Building Services Department (Director Richard Mitchell and Planning Manager Lina Velasco), and the City Attorney’s Office (City Attorney Bruce Goodmiller and Deputy City Attorney Rachel Sommovilla) to discuss community workshops for the Pt. Molate area; 5 Met, along with Planning and Building Services Director Richard Mitchell, with representatives from Levin Terminal to discuss concerns regarding possible coal dust from their coal transport facility; Participated in a conference call with US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staff to discuss the status of the Richmond Housing Authority recovery agreement, along with Senior Assistant City Attorney Carlos Privat, Finance Director Belinda Warner, and Housing Authority consultant Tia Ingram; Participated in an extended phone conversation with RecycleMore Executive Director Stan Hakes to discuss proposed revisions to the joint powers agreement for the agency; Participated on an interview panel assisting the City of Hercules on their recruitment of a new police chief; Attended the farewell reception for Marsh Tomassi, who has set a remarkable standard for community service in Richmond; Met, along with Belinda Warner, with the auditors for the Richmond Housing Authority; Attended the quarterly Disaster Council meeting on emergency preparedness, chaired by Emergency Services Manager Genevieve Pastor-Cohen; Met with representatives of the Police Officers Association, along with Finance Director Belinda Warner, Senior Accountant Stacie Plummer, and Human Resources Director Lisa Stephenson, to discuss establishing irrevocable trust accounts for their OPEB (retiree medical) contributions; Met, along with Community Development Director Shasa Curl and Management Analyst Gabino Arredondo, with John Nemeth from the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee, Peter Engle, from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, and representatives from the Water Emergency Transit Authority (WETA), to discuss the status of the ferry service coming to Richmond; Met with representatives from the Safe Return Team, together with Rent Board staff members Nicolas Traylor and Paige Roosa, to discuss implementation of the Fair Chance to Housing Ordinance. These meetings were in addition to attending the regular management staff meeting, agenda planning, reviewing staff reports to the City Council, doing department head “check-ins,” having discussions on various personnel matters, and having short discussions with staff, community members, members of the press, etc. 7. 2018 Historic Preservation Awards On May 21st, the Richmond Historic Preservation Commission and National Park Service held the 2018 Historic Preservation Awards ceremony. The purpose of the Historic Preservation Awards program is to increase public awareness of Richmond’s heritage by recognizing individuals, organizations, businesses, and 6 agencies whose contributions demonstrate outstanding commitment to excellence in historic preservation, local history or promotion of the heritage of the City of Richmond. This year's Historic Preservation Award recipients were: o Sandi Genser-Maack, for her Relentless Preservation of Richmond History; o Alten Construction, Inc., for Adaptive Reuse of the Historic National Oil Products Company Vitamin Factory for Alten Construction, Inc.’s Headquarters; o Melinda McCrary, for Spearheading the Rescue of a Priceless Victor Arnautoff Mural and Fostering New Participatory, Community-Centered Programs at the Richmond Museum of History; o Nystrom Elementary School, for the Rehabilitation and National Register Designation of Nystrom Elementary School. In addition, the National Park Service very kindly presented the Home Front Award to the city manager for his role in forging a strong partnership between the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park and the City of Richmond. The ceremony was followed by a reception at the Richmond Art Center, catered by the Contra Costa College Culinary Department. (Source: Ellen Gailing) The City of Richmond Planning and Building Services Department, National Park Service, and Historic Preservation Commission thank the following sponsors for their donations and services towards making the 2018 Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony a success: 7 8. FY2018-19 Budget Development This past week, the City Council continued to receive department budget presentations, which have concluded. Also, the City Council received a status update on FY2018-19 draft budget. The current draft budget reflects gap of $3.7 million left to close, a decrease from the $7.2 million gap that was presented on May 15, 2018. th On Tuesday, June 12 at 6:30 PM, the Finance